Hats Off to Hate

                                    

                                          
   The next morning I woke up earlier then most days. The sun was only just coming over the horizon, painting the sky a grey color. I rolled over on my side, my arms moving beside me to look for Arthur. 
   To my disappointment, only a warm, empty spot in bed was left where he once layed. I sat up, I hadn't dreamed it; the headache, lack of clothes, and marks on my hips all proved that thought to be false. I looked around the room where I finally saw him, inatantly relieved. Arthur was pulling his pants up and turn to look at me when he noticed I was awake. The room was littered with our clothes, his shirts and hat, which I noticed was half way under the bed, and my dress, corset and petticoat. All together it was quite a mess.
   With a warm smile he approached me, kissing my head softly while cupping my cheek. "Sorry, didn't mean to wake ya," he whispered. I still felt warm from the covers as I crawled closer to him, kissing him gently and laying my head on his shoulder. He let out a soft chuckle,"You sleep okay?" He ran his hand up and down my bare side gently, leaving a trail of goosebumps behind. I nodded, smiling softly. "Are you leaving...?" I asked, turning my head to face him. He sighed,"I spose I thought it better to leave before anyone saw me." "Would you have said goodbye?" He seemed a bit taken aback by that question. His hand cupping my face as he kissed my forehead,"Of course," he cooed. 
   This moment, this moment right here...it was perfect. Laying here snuggled up with Arthur in bed in the dark. I adored him, everything about him was perfect, even his flaws. "How long will your husband be gone?" He asked. "Till tomorrow morning," I replied softly. I wish he'd be gone longer, perhaps Arthur and I could have done this again. I would have liked that. "Well, I suppose I could stay a little longer," he grinned. I happily lifted the covers for him to crawl back under as he wrapped his arms around me and kissed my temple. As we cuddled up together
   Just as I was beginning to doze off again, the silence was interrupted by a knock at the door. Arthur and I both jumped, scrambling to hide him somewhere. "U-uh, who is it?" I called, pulling one of my satin robes on. "Elizabeth, mam! It's important!" She replied, it sounded like she was trying to keep her voice down. I quickly opened the door for her, she looked frazzled. Immediately, she saw Arthur,"I knew it! Uh...," she corrected her out burst as both Arthur and I looked at her funny. Clearing her throat she went on,"Y-your husband's returned early, his carriage is outside!" She said, looking more at Arthur than me. "Shit!" I quickly rushed to get Arthurs shirt and vest, rushing him out to the balcony. Elizabeth left quickly as I stuffed the clothes away to make the scene less incriminating to our night before. Arthur said goodbye, kissing me one last time before climbing down the post of the balcony. Right in time too, Alexander entered just as Arthur touched the ground and ran to the back of the house to mount his horse. 
   "Oh. You're awake, good morning," he greeted me in a dull slur. I quickly turned to face him, doing my best to seem calm.
   "Good morning! How was your trip?" I ask him. He sighs,"Some more delinquent yankees robbed one of my train carts...!" he grumbled. I looked away, remembering Dutch asking me to help them get info for that not to long ago. I, of course, agreed and helped them by telling them how many men there would be on guard; good to see it was successful. "That's terrible!...Were any of them captured?" I pryed a bit. "No...but all my men were shot!" He threw off his coat. I blinked for a second, surly I should have known that. They were outlaws and I'd very well saw Arthur once almost beat a man to death so why was it I was almost surprised to hear that? I suppose after seeing the side of Arthur, the one that was softer, gentler, and generally more kind, the idea of him shooting and hurting people just seemed...unbelievable.
   "Thats...terrible. Did they take anything expensi-?" "Of course s'they took things that's were expensive!" He raised his voice to me. I hadn't expected that. Now looking at him better, I noticed, was he drunk?